Beast in Black at Rockhal

Anton Kabanen left one Finnish metal band in 2015 and, a few months later, started another, named after the Black Swordsman of the manga Berserk. Beast in Black pair heavy riffs with a soft spot for 1980s pop.

Beast in Black play the Rockhal Club on Saturday 21 November, with Sonata Arctica and Frozen Crown. Doors at 19:00.

Three bands, two of them Finnish, working the melodic end of heavy metal where the choruses matter as much as the riffs. Sonata Arctica have been at it since the late 1990s and are no ordinary support act, so this is closer to a double bill.

Standing, in the Club, promoted by den Atelier. Casse-Noisette is in the Main Hall the same afternoon, so the building will have hosted two completely different crowds before midnight.

Who are Beast in Black?

Beast in Black is a heavy metal band formed in Helsinki in 2015 by guitarist and songwriter Anton Kabanen, a few months after he left Battle Beast. The line-up is international: Kabanen is Finnish, singer Yannis Papadopoulos is Greek and bassist Máté Molnár is Hungarian, with drummer Atte Palokangas on board since 2018 and guitarist Markus Venehsalo joining in 2026.

Their sound pairs heavy riffs and big melodic hooks with dance-metal energy and a soft spot for 1980s pop and electronic music. The name comes from the Black Swordsman of the Japanese manga Berserk, a story that turns up in a few songs on every album. Their very first concert was opening for Nightwish at Espoo Metro Areena on 13 November 2015.

Their records

• Berserker (2017): the debut, which reached number 7 in Finland.
• From Hell with Love (2019): their first number 1 in Finland, certified Platinum.
• Dark Connection (2021): straight in at number 1 in Finland, certified Gold.

Songs to know before the night: “Blind and Frozen”, “Sweet True Lies”, “From Hell with Love”, “Moonlight Rendezvous”, “One Night in Tokyo” and “Enter the Behelit”.

Milestones

• Signed to Nuclear Blast in 2017.
• Festival stages at Graspop, Hellfest and Wacken Open Air.
• Their own arcade game, One Night in Tokyo, released in 2021.
• A 2025 collaboration with Blizzard’s Diablo IV and Berserk, which gave the single “Enter the Behelit”.
• “Metal of the Year” at Finland’s Emma Awards in 2022.

The tour

This date belongs to the 4th Album Release Tour 2026, a European headline run built around the band’s fourth studio album, the follow-up to Dark Connection.